What are Social Networks, Really?

I've been perusing the news over the last few days to find something interesting and blog-worthy... but nothing has really grabbed me.

So, I went to Google and typed in "social networking" simply to see what popped up first. I thought this might help generate a blog topic idea. Anyway, the first thing I saw was a Wikipedia definition... check it out:

"A social network service uses software to build online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, and so on.

Social networking has revolutionized the way we communicate and share information with one another in today's society. Various social networking websites are being used by millions of people everyday on a regular basis and it now seems that social networking is a part of everyday life."

Since Technorella is completely obsessed with the way online social networking sites (mainly Facebook) have influenced the way people communicate, it perhaps goes without saying that what I find most interesting is that inherent in the Wikipedia definition is the implication that social networks "have revolutionized the way we communicate and share information." If Wikipedia says so, it must be true, right?

I find it interesting how much social networking sites are taken for granted as a communications mechanism. They didn't even really exist five years ago, and now they're considered mainstream and integral to our social interactions. Oh, how time flies in the online world...